Sheet retaining device



Aug. 5, 19.58 .J. w. KINNEY, JR

' SHEET RETAININGJDEVICE Filed Sept. 22', 1955 F INVENTOR.

JOHN M. Kl/V/VEYJR.

I BY

AT ORN United States Patent SHEET RETAINING DEVICE Jhhn W. ,Kinney,.Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio,- assignor m J'e'ronie J. Pluckehauni, Troy, Ohio Applic'afidn September 22; 1955, Serial No'. 535980 1 Claim. (Cl. 1'2'9"-1 the sheets in a positive and reliable manner within the binder cover, but which, on the other hand, allows the sheets 10 be removedconveniently by a simple repositioning, of its parts.

The invention is based upon the concept of a'base strip having-flexible sheetretaining fingers alongone edge and' arelatively rigid keeper-section along an opposite edgiincluding open notches displaced laterallyfrom tlifr'ee outer ends of the fingers.- The keeper section is fairly rigid since it extends for the full length of the base strip, while the fingers, which are inthe form of relatively narrow strips of the same sheet material, are yieldable laterally into alignmentlwith the notches and also in apath-perpendicularto-the base strip; Acc'ordingly, the free-outerends of-thefing'ers may be' sprung se fectively to asheet -locking p'o'sition claspe'cl be'n'eath the edge 'o'f"the keeper'- section-or to-a sheet rle'ase position residing aboveit: p

A further object of the invention has been to facilitate the iri's'ertion of'th'e' shee'ts' by"p'rdviding" a self-engaging action when'fa" sheet is"dra'wn"int6engagement over the eifds of I the fingers in" their" released position.

In the preferred form, the keeper section is of upwardly curled form, while the fingers have a similar but opposed curled shape with their free ends extending outwardly beyond the free edge of the curled keeper section. When in sheet release position, the fingers engage the keeper section under light downward spring pressure and delineate a converging passageway so arranged that a loose sheet may readily be slipped into latching position by engaging its perforations over the free ends of the fingers. The sheet is then pulled in a direction to wedge the ends of the fingers upwardly as the edge of the sheet passes through the converging passageway; thereafter the downward spring pressure holds the sheet temporarily in place.

To latch the sheet permanently, the fingers are sprung laterally then downwardly through the notches. Upon release, they spring laterally back toward their original position and upwardly; therefore, their free outer ends are now clasped beneath the free edge of the curled keeper section to latch the sheets in position in a positive manner.

To release the sheets, the fingers are released by fiexing them laterally to pass them upwardly through the notches; they then spring back to their normal position ice above the curled section and alongsidethe open notches for insertion or removal'of'the sheets.

Other features" and advantages of the invention will bemo're fiilly apparent from the detailed description of the structure as shown in the drawings.

In the drawings: V

Fig. l is a top plan-view ofa looselea-f note book having a sheet retaining. device of this invention, portions ofthe cover being broken away to illustrate the parts withiiithe cover.

Fig. 2is an enlarged sectional view taken on-line 2-2"of'Fig. 1, further detailing the'sheet retainer in its sheet locking position.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3-ofFig. l,

showing one-of the flexible retainer fingers in sheet" re leasev anties;

Fig." 4' is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of-a fiiigei" inf itsclasped' sheet locking position.

Fig. S' isayiew' similar to Fig. 4, showing the finger spri iigilatrallytowards its sheet releasing position;

Fig. 6 is 'a view similar'to Fig; 5, showing the binder finger ruuy"releasedror adding or removing the perforated sheets. I

Referringto Fig; l, the sheet retainer or clasping: device, indicated generally" at 10 is adhesively secured as' at 1 2-to'a loose-leaffbinde r or note-book 14 consi'stiiigof cdvers m and18 hingedly connected to a back sefcti n20"; Th'e're'tainer 10', which is co-extensive with the l figthof' the 'no'te book, is shown inbinding engagemeiili'witlra'st'a ck of perforated loose-leaf sheets indicated at- 221 Inthe present disclosure, the stackedlooseleafsh'eeflsaieprovide'd' with three perforations and the retame'r h'as' three loop-shaped flexible fingers 30, which re giste'rwitli' the erforations; The number of perforatio'if andfihgers" varies with the'utilit-y of the binder according to" standard practice.

Described in detail, the binder 10 is" of one-piece cantata and'israrmed from a single sheet of flexina 'srrsetraateriar such as one of the commercially a'vai ble plastic; c5inpositions; preferably of the thermoseuing rpe The 'fiat sheet' material is readily'stamped oi-bl'anke' 'o'utfb'y diesto the requiredconfiguration-and thl aft bent into shape in suitable forming dies. formed fromther'mo-p'la'sti'c sheeting, the forming die's reflhea'ted'to' a temperatu'rewhich reduces the sheet material" to a semi-plastic, readily deformable state. Upon removal from thedie's, the sheet material'cools quickly and sets permanently to the shape imparted to it by the dies.

After being formed, the sheet consists of the flat base strip 32 having an outer edge curled upwardly to form the keeper section 34. From the opposite or inner edge of the base strip, the flexible retainer fingers curve upwardly and outwardly toward and beyond the inner edge 36 of the curled keeper section 34. The curved shank portion 38 of each finger projects upwardly through the matching perforation 40 of the stack of sheets as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

In the fiat blank, the resilient fingers 30 are delineated by respective V-shaped notches which extend inwardly from the edge of the base strip. The fingers project from the inner end of the apex of the notches. Along the opposite edge of the fiat blank, the open notches 52 are blanked out in positions offset from the fingers. After being blanked out and shaped, the fingers, which are now loop-shaped, extend across the inner edge of the curled keeper section with the free ends of the fingers laterally displaced from the notches as shown in Fig. 6.

For convenient insertion of the loose sheets, the outer end of each finger is curved upwardly as indicated at 39, while the curvature of the keeper section 34, which is in the opposite direction, co-operates with the curved portion of the finger to delineate the inwardly converging passageway 60 (Fig. 3).

As shown in Fig. 5, each retainer finger, by virtue of the resilient quality of the sheet material, is free to be sprung laterally toward its adjacent open notch 52. It will be understood that in sheet release position (Figs. 3 and 6), the curvature of each finger normally springs the finger downwardly against the edge 36 of the keeper section under light spring pressure. On the other hand, when clasped in sheet locking position, the curved free end 39 of the finger engages the undersurface of the curled section (Figs. 2 and 4). This additional downward deflection imparts sufiicient upward spring pressure to provide a positive sheet locking'action.

When a loose sheet is to be inserted into the binder, it is placed in position with the free ends 39 of the fingers 30 projecting through its perforations. The sheet is then pulled in a direction to draw the sheet upon the fingers. This creates a wedging action as the edge of the perforation 40 is drawn into the converging passageway 60 and springs the free end of the finger upwardly. The sheet, which is now impaled upon the fingers, is

allowed to drop down upon the stack as indicated at 22 in Fig. 3. Since the free end of the finger now engages the free edge of the curled section. 34, the sheet is temporarily bound within the note-book.

Thereafter, each finger is sprung laterally toward the open notches (Fig. 5) and released after passing downwardly through the notches. Upon release, the fingers snap laterally and upwardly into clasping engagement beneath the edge of the curled section (Figs. 2 and 4). With the fingers sprung to this position, the sheet is permanently bound within the note-book or binder.

When sheets are to be removed, the fingers are sprung laterally and upwardly from beneath the over-hanging curl to the release position shown in Fig. 6. The sheet is then turned to the position indicated in Fig. 3 and is removed by pulling it in the direction indicated by the arrow 80.

From the foregoing disclosure, it will be observed that the principle of springing the fingers both horizontally and vertically creates a positive and reliable sheet retaining structure. When in sheet releasing position, the converging passageway delineated by curved outer ends of the fingers creates a self-engaging action for convenient insertion of the sheets. The curved contour of the fingers also creates a self-releasing action as the sheets are pulled in the direction shown in Fig. 3, thereby facilitating the removal of the sheets.

While the disclosure is made in relation to thermoplastic sheet material, it will be apparent that the device may also be made from fibrous sheets, sheet metal, or other material having required resilient or yieldahle qualities.

What is claimed is:

A sheet retaining device for binding perforated loose sheets within a binder cover, comprising a member formed of sheet-like material and including a flat base portion having one longitudinal edge thereof curved upwardly upon itself providing a keeper edge positioned above one side surface of the base portion, the opposite edge of the base portion having a series of inwardly directed notches extending substantially to the side surface thereof which said keeper edge overlies to define a series of flexible spatula-like fingers, said fingers being curved upwardly from the apices of said notches and back upon themselves in portions generally parallel to said flat base to extend toward said keeper edge and each finger being of a length to extend beyond and overlap said keeper edge, said keeper edge having a series of notches therein, each positioned immediately adjacent but in laterally offset relation to the keeper edge portion normally overlapped by a corresponding finger, said fingers being arcuately joined with said base portion so as to be laterally flexible to allow passage thereof through said notches in the keeper edge between a locked position in which the terminal end of a finger underlies said keeper edge and an open position in which the terminal end of a finger overlies said keeper edge, said fingers being so formed as to tend to assume a normal position intermediate the open and locked positions such that the ends of the fingers forcibly engage the keeper edge in both the open and locked positions, the terminal ends of said fingers being upwardly curved whereby when the same are in the open position in engagement with the keeper edge they define a convergent passageway with the same for guidably receiving paper therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 172,659 Roberts Jan. 25, 1876 717,787 Whitmore Jan. 6, 1903 1,238,410 Landsberg et al. Aug. 28, 1917 2,123,625 Emmer July 12, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS 43,586 France Apr. 23, 1934 (Addition to No. 745,030) 925,068 France Mar. 4, 1947 

